Bats in the Belfrey
by Rosie2009
Summary: Insanity: is it simply a matter of perception? Is life truly all one mad game to which there is no end? What is normalcy? Normalcy is a veil, a cover for the most deeply psychotic to deceive themselves and everyone around them. The true question is how does one cope in a world of lunacy where there is no hope of recovery.


"You stupid girl!" Joker shrieked. Harley fell to the ground with the sheer force of the violent blow. She licked her bottom lip and tasted the metallic flavor of blood staining it. She jerked, losing her breath as he kicked her stomach. Against her better judgement, she dared looked up at the intimidating figure standing over her.

There was a certain air of pure insanity radiating about him. It was almost as if the atmosphere was turned putrid simply by his overbearing, mad countenance.

His blood red lips, pale white skin, and grass green hair all were once aspects of his being that Harley thought to be devilishly handsome. Now she only saw the devil rather than a handsome man.

Perhaps he was not even a man and rather a creature of terror- a demon of sorts.

Despite her current predicament and the risk she knew she would be taking by speaking, Harley nevertheless attempted to make an excuse.

"But, Mistah J, I didn't mean to-" she was suddenly interrupted as he kicked her already sore stomach harder than before. She was immediately thrown into a coughing fit, hacking and sputtering as she lied in a heap.

"You ruined- ruined, I tell you- my chances of killing _him_!" he shouted dangerously. She, now simply wheezing with each intake of breath, fearfully beheld his disheveled appearance. All of this, simply for the sole reason that she made a small mistake. She hadn't meant to slip, to drop the gun, to allow the Batman to escape.

Much to her misfortune, the madman before her only could see the fact that she had screwed up.

"Harley, you haven't been my girl lately," Joker said, a façade of sadness falling over his visage. "You've been more- how should I phrase it? Sane," he deadpanned, completely solemn. It was at these times that he was at his most dangerous.

Quite frankly, Harley was afraid to say anything. True, she had felt slightly more in touch with her former self, but she thought that in her actions and most of her general state of mind that she was primarily her current self.

As she considered his assessment quietly, she watched as his face morphed into a fearsome laugh. She fearfully watched as his red lips stretched into a blood-curdling smile.

"Don't worry, you can be fixed. Just let Doctor J take care of you. We'll go visit our shock treatment room," he grinned evilly. Harley's mouth moved but no sound came out. She crawled backwards slightly in sheer terror of what was about to occur. He stalked slowly forward, taking his time with the movements, obviously relishing and perversely enjoying her feelings of distress.

"Leave her alone," a deep, growling voice resounded throughout the large, nearly empty warehouse.

Harley's eyes averted from the clown to the shadowy figure carefully emerging from the darkness.

"Batsy! You've decided to rejoin the party after all! I thought that you had gone home for the night. Maybe the idiot didn't screw up quite as badly as I thought," Joker grinned evilly as he gave Harley a kick of a greatly smaller force. She still coughed from the sudden pressure on her diaphragm, but was grateful for the distraction of his attention to Batman.

"I said leave her alone," Batman rumbled, more menacing than before.

"Hmmph. All work and no play makes for a really crabby Batty. Oh, well, I don't really want to play your games, so let's play one of mine," the clown cackles and Harley finds herself pulled up beside him. The cold, unforgiving feel of metal touches the side of her head and a click reaches her ears. Harley's eyes widen.

She was held at gunpoint.

Harley couldn't help but whimper quietly, looking between the two adversaries.

For the first time, Harley viewed Batman as the hero. Rather than the normally annoying hindrance that he was to Joker's plans, he was now her only hope- her only chance at survival.

Batman was all she had left at this point. This night would likely be her last, and the entire fight would be over. The Joker, Batman, Gotham, the constant grapple between Harleen Quinzel and Harley Quinn- the general struggle of life itself would end and she wouldn't be in this screwball world any longer.

Harley halfway relished the thought. It was partially enticing: the idea of a possible end to the perpetual conflicts within herself and surrounding her each day.

No longer would she be the plaything of a maniacal genocidal psychopath. No longer would she be thrown into the crosshairs of the never-ending battle between the sworn protector of Gotham City and the Clown Prince of Crime. No longer would she be the pathetic, pitied sidekick of the famed villain himself.

Yet, as many reasons as there were to succumb into the grasp of death, there were other reasons of more importance that clawed their way to the forefront of her mind.

She could have a chance at a new life. One without theft, murder, and other illegal components. One where she could at least attempt to be an innocent bystander to the overflowing crime rate of the city. One where she could be a normal young woman with nothing spectacular associated with her existence.

The gun was shoved harder into her skull, pressing into her.

She moved her gaze to the lenses of Batman's cowl, silently pleading for him to release her from this position. To release her from this monster.

The position of his head angled itself slightly in her direction, indicative of a glance at her.

Faster than the speed of light, a gunshot rang out in the midst of the tense situation.

Harley fell haphazardly to the ground with a resounding thud. She gasped frantically for air, unable to catch her breath.

Was she dying? Would this be the end of the seemingly eternal brawl?

Blearily she opened her eyes, partially blinded by the tears coating them. She jumped at the sight of the Joker, bloodied and somewhat battered, lying before her. From what little she was able to see, he had been rendered unconscious by Batman.

She felt her gasping, quaking body be lifted by gentle but firm hands and found herself resting in the strong arms of the Caped Crusader. She looked up at the defined jaw and thin, frowned lips followed by the remaining stretch of the cowl covering his nose, eyes, and brow.

At that moment, such relief wracked her frame, her body shook to release the extreme stress she had undergone.

Her vision became fuzzy. What was happening to her? What would happen to her?

As her vision darkened so that there was a mere dot of the world around her, Harley felt herself being laid down on a semisoft surface.

Where was she? At that moment, she was too tired to care. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to fade off into oblivion.

 **Sorry I've been gone for so long, you guys! It's been a while since I've written anything Batman related. But I do have good news. I am planning for this to be a chapter story that hopefully spans to about twenty chapters or more. The beginning is a bit rough and short, but I hope that you all stay with me and endure, LOL. However, it might be a while before I update this. I'm trying to make it a lot better than the previous story I wrote that had Harley Quinn in it. I hope you all like this and please let me know how you feel about it by reviewing. I hope you all have a fantastic day! :)**


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